Continued poor hitting has Braves fending off trade deadline questions after series loss to Angels

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves don’t want to hear they are running out of time to prove they can still compete for a playoff spot.

Continued offensive woes are making a case Atlanta could be sellers instead of buyers at the trade deadline.

Atlanta came within two outs of its second shutout loss in losing two of three games to the Los Angeles Angels. The Braves dodged what would have been their fourth shutout loss in their last seven games when Jurickson Profar hit a ninth-inning homer, but it was far too little to save the listless offense Thursday night in a 5-1 loss to the Angels.

The Braves were shut out by the Angels 4-0 on Tuesday night in the series opener.

The Braves (39-47) are fourth place in the NL East.

Manager Brian Snitker hoped the return of Profar from an 80-game drug suspension would spark the struggling offense, and Profar hit homers in back-to-back games. That wasn’t enough to save Atlanta from its first home series loss to the Angels since 2005.

“So hopefully that will be an added thing for us,” Snitker said of Profar’s return as the starting left fielder and No. 5 hitter. “If we get some guys going around him.”

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The Braves were limited to three hits, all singles, in seven innings by Angels right-hander José Soriano, who didn’t allow a baserunner to reach second base. Matt Olson had one of the hits, a first-inning single to right field that extended his streak of reaching base safely to 33 games.

While Olson has boosted his batting average from .234 on May 27 to .267, others continue to struggle. Michael Harris is hitting .215 and Ozzie Albies is at .224 after each was held without a hit.

Those struggles add to speculation it may be time for the Braves to shake up the lineup at the trade deadline.

“Nobody wants to hear that,” Olson said. “We’re in here competing every day. We still have playoffs on our mind and I understand there’s going to be some outside noise when you have a record like we do but we still feel like we’ve got a good unit in here. We’re just not playing as well as we want to.”

The Braves also are burdened by a depleted rotation.

Bryce Elder (2-6) gave up four runs on eight hits and three walks in five innings for his third consecutive loss. The Braves trailed 3-0 after two innings.

“That’s on me,” Elder said.

“It’s tough to get the offense on a roll when you’re always coming from behind.”

Elder’s poor outing came one day after right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach landed on the 15-day injured list with a fractured right elbow on Wednesday. The rotation previously lost Chris Sale (broken rib), AJ Smith-Shawver (Tommy John surgery) and Reynaldo López (shoulder surgery) to injuries.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb